If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

Dust swirled along the official road.

Zhou Yang felt his eyelids grow heavy. The aftereffects of burning fifty years of his lifespan were far more severe than he had imagined. It wasn't just simple fatigue; it was a weakness that seeped from the very marrow of his bones. He controlled the horse, his body swaying gently in the saddle. Each jolt felt like it was shaking his internal organs out of place.

Qin Shuang beside him was in a better position. She sat upright, like a sword sheathed. But there were also dark circles under her eyes that she couldn't hide. The past two days of fleeing for their lives had not been easy for anyone.

"Want to take a break?" Zhou Yang's voice was a little hoarse.

Qin Shuang shook her head. "Let's walk a little further. There's a post station ahead."

The two fell silent. Only the monotonous clatter of horses' hooves echoed across the road. The wastelands on either side of the road were gradually turning yellow. Autumn was approaching.

After walking for about half an hour, Zhou Yang's vision became somewhat blurry. He rubbed his eyes, and the moment he opened them again, a sharp pain exploded from his temples.

It felt like a needle had pierced right in.

He groaned and nearly fell off his horse.

"What's wrong?" Qin Shuang immediately supported his arm.

"It's nothing." Zhou Yang waved his hand, forcing himself to suppress his discomfort. He saw it clearly. In his field of vision, in the air ahead, there appeared something that didn't belong to this world.

It has pale gold patterns.

The patterns were intricate, resembling some kind of rune or the nodes of an array. They floated in the air, forming a vast, invisible net. The source of the net was not far ahead.

Zhou Yang's heart sank. This was a warning passively triggered by the "Eye of the Array." A high-level array was in operation.

He followed the trail of lines to its source. A group of figures appeared on the official road ahead.

They were a squad of soldiers.

They blocked the entire road, forcing passing merchants and travelers to stop and be inspected. These soldiers were dressed unusually. It wasn't the usual garrison uniform, nor the flying fish robes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They wore dark red armor, with a tiger's head cast on the breastplate. In the sunlight, the tiger's head gleamed with a cold, eerie light.

Each person in the group was shrouded in pale golden patterns. The core of these patterns was on the leading general. It was an extremely tiny mark, hidden in the seam of his armor. Zhou Yang couldn't see the details clearly, but he could sense that the mark resonated with something powerful and ancient deep within the imperial city.

"Who is that?" Zhou Yang asked in a low voice.

Qin Shuang's expression changed as well. She reined in her horse and squinted to examine it closely.

"Tiger Guards." She uttered the three words, her voice heavy with solemnity.

"The emperor's personal guards?"

"Hmm." Qin Shuang nodded. "They are directly under the Emperor, responsible for palace defense and secret intelligence gathering. They are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, nor under the Jinyiwei. They are the sharpest knife in the Emperor's hand."

Zhou Yang understood. Trouble was brewing.

They've just shaken off the trouble in Anyang County. Now, they've already sent people to wait for them on their way to the capital. This efficiency is astonishing.

"Why did they leave Beijing?" Zhou Yang asked.

"I don't know." Qin Shuang shook her head. "The Tiger Guards rarely leave the capital's territory. Their appearance here can only mean one thing: something big has happened."

They mingled in the crowd, slowly inching forward. The closer they got, the heavier the invisible pressure became. The Tiger Guard soldiers stood ramrod straight, their eyes sharp as knives. They didn't utter a word, simply checking travel permits and searching vehicles. The whole scene was eerily quiet, save for the occasional shout and the nervous explanations of those being questioned.

Zhou Yang lowered his head, hiding his face in the shadow of his collar. His heart was pounding. His palms were already drenched in cold sweat. He was no longer a respectable figure. A low-ranking officer who had escaped from Anyang County, and a wanted criminal at that. Falling into the hands of the Tiger Guard would certainly not end well.

Qin Shuang, however, calmed down. She straightened her back, her face regaining its usual coldness. She lifted the hood of her cloak, revealing a beautiful but expressionless face. This was her armor.

It was their turn.

A Tiger Guard soldier stepped forward and extended his hand. His eyes looked as if he were looking at two inanimate objects.

"Road permit".

Zhou Yang's heart leaped into his throat. Their travel permits had long been discarded.

Qin Shuang didn't speak. She took something out of her bosom—not a travel permit, but a small waist tag. It was made of brass and engraved with intricate cloud patterns.

The soldier's eyes widened. He took the badge, examined it carefully, and then handed it to a man who looked like a centurion behind him.

The centurion glanced at the badge, then turned his gaze to Qin Shuang. He looked at her a couple more times. His gaze lingered on her face for a moment before shifting to Zhou Yang behind her.

Zhou Yang felt his back was soaked with cold sweat. He forced himself to remain calm, putting on a submissive appearance, like a servant following his master out.

The centurion returned the waist token to Qin Shuang without saying anything, only making a "please" gesture.

Zhou Yang couldn't believe it. It was all over just like that?

He led his horse, and together with Qin Shuang, they quickly passed the checkpoint. Only after walking about a hundred paces did he dare to catch his breath.

"What is that?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"Something from my home," Qin Shuang said succinctly, "a jade token. I haven't used it for many years."

Zhou Yang fell silent. Qin Shuang's background was far more profound than he had imagined. This small jade token had actually secured the passage of the Tiger Guards. But the centurion's gaze earlier had made him uneasy.

That wasn't the look of someone looking at a passerby. It was scrutiny, an assessment. As if they were identifying something.

He glanced back. The centurion of the Hundred Guards was standing there, watching the direction they had left in, still clutching the jade token in his hand.

"He's looking for someone," Zhou Yang said definitively.

"Hmm." Qin Shuang also glanced back. "There must be a portrait on the list he's holding. My face made him hesitate."

Zhou Yang's internal alarm bells rang. Hesitation didn't mean letting the opportunity pass; it simply meant he hadn't acted yet. He was like a child carrying gold in a bustling marketplace, already attracting the attention of robbers. The other party was just waiting for the right moment.

"We can't take the official road anymore," Zhou Yang decided immediately.

"Okay," Qin Shuang agreed, "Let's go around via the side path."

The two men spurred their horses off the official road and turned into a desolate forest. There were no paths in the forest, and waist-high weeds grew everywhere. The horses moved slowly, occasionally tripping over tree roots.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. Only the rustling of the wind through the leaves could be heard. This silence was more unsettling than any checkpoint on the main road.

Zhou Yang kept thinking about the centurion's eyes, and the pale golden array mark on his body. That thing gave him a very unsettling feeling. It was an absolute, unquestionable sense of power, like a vast, inescapable net, and they were just two small fish caught in it.

Commander Chen of Anyang County is like a mad dog. But his madness is obvious. You can see it, and you can be wary of it.

The Tiger Guards of the capital are like a fierce tiger lurking in the shadows. They don't roar, they don't show their claws. They just watch you silently. The moment you let your guard down, they will pounce and bite your throat.

"The waters of the capital are much deeper than those of Anyang County," Zhou Yang said softly, as if talking to himself.

Qin Shuang didn't speak. She simply tightened her grip on the reins. Even the icy expression on her face seemed to crack slightly.

Zhou Yang knew she was afraid too. But her fear was different from his. He was afraid of death. What she feared was something more complex than death.

The light in the woods dimmed. The sun was blocked by the dense canopy. The air became damp and chilly. Horse hooves pounded and smacked on the decaying leaves.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead.

They walked out of the woods.

Before us lay a dried-up riverbed. Across the river, a small village lay, with wisps of smoke rising gently from its chimneys.

"We'll rest there tonight," Zhou Yang said, pointing to the village.

Qin Shuang nodded.

The two dismounted, led their horses, and walked down to the riverbed. The riverbed was covered with pebbles, making the walk uneven and unsteady.

Zhou Yang's legs grew weaker and weaker. He was practically dragging his feet. A deep, bone-deep exhaustion washed over him like waves. He just wanted to lie down and sleep for three days and three nights.

But he dared not. He knew they were exposed. From the moment they were stopped by the Tiger Guards, they were exposed. That invisible net had already been cast upon this place.

The so-called "golden cicada shedding its shell" only sheds the thinnest shell of Anyang Prefecture. The shell of the capital is harder and stickier. Shedding it would reveal the flesh along with the skin.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and the horizon was dyed blood red.

The blood-red sky resembled the scene he witnessed as he burned through his lifespan.

He suddenly realized that this capital city might not be a path to survival, but rather an even larger graveyard.

But there was no turning back. Behind them lay the legend of the Corpse King and the pursuit of two powerful forces. Ahead lay the unknown capital and the clutches of the Tiger Guard.

They were walking on a path in the middle. A steel wire suspended over an abyss.

Zhou Yang took a deep breath and forced himself to stay alert.

He glanced at Qin Shuang beside him. She was looking at him too. Her eyes held neither coldness nor fear, only a complex mix of emotions.

It's as if to say, "I know the road ahead is fraught with peril."

But we'll walk together.

Zhou Yang tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

He led the horse and continued walking. His steps were heavy, but steady.

At least, I'm not walking alone.